Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Southern (NYSE:SO) Price Target to $77.00

Southern (NYSE:SO) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on SO. BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and set a $76.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $74.71.

Southern Price Performance

NYSE SO traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.47. 8,062,119 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,777,350. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.68. Southern has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $76.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $82.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Southern will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,984.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total transaction of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,025 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,402 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Southern by 18.0% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 959,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,812,000 after purchasing an additional 146,111 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC grew its position in Southern by 1.2% in the first quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Southern by 1,132.8% during the first quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 98,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,075,000 after purchasing an additional 90,627 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 46,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.